A Leader of Substance is Like the BMW 7 Series?

I just made another  short business  trip  to Singapore.   I left last Thursday and returned to Manila just this afternoon.

Source

While on board   Singapore Airlines Flight 912,  I picked up a copy of The Straits Times.  A print  ad  caught  my attention, it was for the  BMW 7 Series. 

The headline read:  "WHAT IS THE TRUE MEASURE OF LEADERSHIP?"  What was interesting to me too was the fact that it was  a series of 8 lower right hand half-page ads.

Flipping through the next 7 pages,  these copy points  appeared in sequence:

• DRIVE.  To know the substance of a leader, look at how   he wields power.
• INFLUENCE.  The substance of a leader is revealed by the company he keeps.
• INTEGRITY.  In challenging times, a leader who stays  true to the path taken proves his substance.
• PRESENCE.  A leader with substance is a leader who intrigues.  For he has a unique outlook that defines his mission, vision and eventual success.
• PURPOSE.  When a leader has substance, he takes people where they ought  to be, not where they want to go.
• PASSION.  A leader's substance is shaped by the immense joy he takes in everything he pursues. 
• RECOGNITION.  When a leader has substance, the world reciprocates.

The end tag on each half-page ad in the series was:  THE BMW 7 SERIES. THE 7 PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP.

I consider  this powerful  copy writing.   It was attention-grabbing,  unconventional and  engaging.  Apparently the 7 principles were also original.   I googled for the source of those principles  and found none-- but that was just me.   The 7 principles could have been  an adaptation. 

But then when I think of  this creative device drawing a parallelism between a car  and a leader of substance, there is something that leaves me  unconvinced.  To me,  the virtues of a leader of substance reside in his or her heart.  Simply put,  I can not say that  of a car.

Whether  or not this ad  is campaignable  and effective in  meeting its objectives-- such as  bringing in  the targeted sales-- remains to be seen.

Just the same, the ad  literally grabbed me momentarily.  For that,  I wish  the  BMW marketing team and its ad agency  all the best on this  campaign.